Showko Comedy will present a Rakugo workshop for artists and teachers on Saturday 28 July 2018 from 12:00-4:00pm at the Bondi Pavilion.

Tickets are $80 and can be purchased at the door (pre-reservation required) or through eventbrite.

Rakugo is a form of entertainment best described as Japanese sit-down comedy or comic story telling. During a show, the Rakugo performer sits on a small pillow (zabuton) dressed in a kimono and acts out the whole story by themselves equipped with only a fan (sensu) and hand towel (tenugui) to help convey ideas. A Rakugo story is told through the conversations between characters, therefore, the performer must be able play the role of each distinct character by changing personality, facial expression, mannerisms, and speech.

This workshop offers a rare opportunity for Australian performers to learn from Showko – the only professionally trained Japanese Rakugo artist currently working outside of Japan.

Got some budding artists in your class? Need some CLIL inspiration? Then The Japan Foundation has a FREE online contest for your students! Submissions are now open for the 2017 Art Speaks Japanese Comes Alive! contest for primary/secondary students of Japanese.Art Speaks Japanese Comes Alive! is an annual art and language contest for school-level students of Japanese. Students create their own artwork inspired by the Art Speaks Japanese 日本の美術 Japanese Language Education Kit (from the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales).

The contest is easy to enter. Students can create individual artworks, set up a matching artwork display in their classroom, or work together with classmates to create a group artwork display at their school or at a school event. Simply, email the photo/s of the artwork together with a completed online entry form by the deadline (30 August 2017). Details can be accessed at http://artalive.jpf-sydney.net/​Entries close on 30 August 2017 and the results will be viewable in the online gallery. グッドラック！